WILDLIFE NEWS OF THE DAY - 070909

In wildlife news today, the problems (and cost) of invasive species coming to the US are examined; but environmental groups are concerned that human activity could have contributed to the deaths of three Mexican gray wolf pups in New Mexico. Ohio University's Lancaster Campus will be hosting a coyote awareness talk 7/16; detailed information on dealing with coyotes and foxes in Pennsylvania is provided by the next item; and North Carolina residents are being warned not to let dogs run free in the woods due to denning coyote attacks. The former chief executive officer of the Piedmont Environmental Council had an unexpected encounter with nature in the kitchen of his Virginia home! Arizona Game and Fish euthanized a black bear they felt had become too familiar with people; and black bears are more numerous in Wisconsin than anyone knew, apparently. A small group of protesters decried the slaughter of raccoons accused of devastating birds' nests in a Maine park; followed by a story in which Oklahoma wildlife officials provide pointers for keeping raccoons from becoming permanent residents (and the reasons why you shouldn't feed them). As a Virginia youth can attest, you don't just have to watch out for rabid wildlife outside - he was bitten by a rabid raccoon in his bedroom! A pair of rabid skunks brings the total in one West Virginia county to two dozen for the year so far. A Michigan motorcyclist died after he collided with a deer in the road. Unwilling to turn their open spaces into 'killing fields' protesters in Fairfield, Connecticut, are opposed to sanctioning a deer hunt; but bovine TB in an 80-head elk herd has forced Indiana wildlife officials to recommend euthanasia for the entire herd. Deep divisions between wildlife officials, farmers, and ranchers over cougars and livestock were revealed by a meeting last night in Hollister, California. A family is perplexed as to why Colorado wildlife officials refused to capture and relocate a cougar their dogs had treed; and the British Columbia park where a child was attacked by a cougar remains closed. And finally, keep an eye on squirrels near dikes in your area - one Washington community didn't and had a flood!

South Florida's killer pythons capture U.S. attention

Groups seek federal probe of NM wolf pup deaths

Discussion to address increased coyote population

Douglass Township residents ask about hunting coyotes, foxes on township-owned land

Coyote activity up at Carolina North

Conservationist finds bear in kitchen having midnight snack

Game And Fish Shoots, Kills Bear

State's bear population three times higher than thought

Protesters fight plover protection methods

Don’t feed those critters

Rabid Raccoon Bites Boy in Bed

Two Rabid Skunks Found in Greenbrier County

Motorcyclist dead after hitting deer

Fairfield protesters oppose deer hunting

Infected SE Ind. elk, deer herd being destroyed

Ranchers, farmers fed up with mountain lion laws

Dogs Corner Mountain Lion in Glade Park

Park still closed after cougar attack

Squirrels Cause Flood